


so this is love

by bukkunkun



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Arcades, Canon Compliant, Cute, Ferris Wheels, First Dates, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Headcanon, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Non-binary protagonist, Post-Canon, Protective Siblings, Romance, i'm that bitch who decided to portray victor/gloria as an enby that uses both names, like. a lot of em
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21938605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: Leon asks Raihan to help him watch over Hop while he falls in love with his best friend.Somehow, they end up confirming something about themselves instead.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan, Hop/Masaru | Victor, Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 47
Kudos: 563





	1. so this is love

**Author's Note:**

> > I’m playing swsh on my sister’s switch and I AM SO HEARTBROKEN EVERY TIME I HAVE TO MAKE A YAMPER FAINT I ALREADY HAVE TWO (2) YAMPERS, BUTTERBUTT AND CHEDDAR I CANNOT SUPPORT MORE
>> 
>> — 🌟 bukkun, MSc 🌟 (@trickscd) [December 14, 2019](https://twitter.com/trickscd/status/1205873573723688960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> i played pokemon swish because raihan's horny design drew me in. you can see my livetweet in the embedded tweet if you want some laughs i guess. also some references to the protag in this fic is from my own playthrough
> 
> i decided??? to make the protag enby for fun honestly. as much as i love victor or gloria with hop i decided to make em enby for some good ol nb fun. 
> 
> anyway MERY CHRIMBY!!!!! MURRY CRISIS!!!!!

“Lee, I think I’m fucked.”

Raihan spat out his energy drink into the wall of Leon’s apartment, his laughter catching at the back of his throat like a claw, and all he got for his trouble was a flat look from the ex-champion sitting next to him on his sofa, dangling his own can of sparkling water from between his fingertips. 

“That’s what he said, Rai! It’s not funny!” Leon _didn’t_ whine, not since he was around Hop’s age now, but Raihan would argue otherwise. “There’s two things wrong with that sentence. _Two!_ ”

Raihan bemusedly eyed the stain of green on the fancy gold-tint wallpaper Chairman Rose had in his penthouse apartment, which was now being occupied by Leon in Wyndon. 

“Let me guess,” Raihan waved the can at Leon’s face, “One, he said a _naughty word._ ”

“Two!” Sonia piped up from where she had her face buried in her Yamper’s tummy, her words slurred from the cans of Pika-chuuhai she’d downed since the start of their evening. She was on the floor instead of the loveseat across him and Leon, sprawled out on top of her students’ papers she brought with her to ‘check, just in case we end up with a lot of free time’, she’d said. Now she was using them as a makeshift mat to sit on. “Hoppy’s— _hic_ —said a no-no!” 

“That’s what I said, Sonia.” Raihan said mildly, but he was grinning as he took another swig of his energy drink. He eyed Leon’s sparkling water disdainfully, and shook his head. “And at least _some_ of us are actually having fun here.”

Leon gave him a withering look, and Raihan shrugged apologetically, reaching forward to pat his shoulder. “Listen, I’m sure Hop’s just,” he made a vague gesture with his free hand, “Y’know.”

“I know what.” Leon deadpanned, and Sonia snorted again.

“You know _nothing,_ Leon.” She said, and Raihan wished he had some of the Pika-chuuhai she was having too, when Leon was definitely _not pouting_ at her, and then at him, when Leon turned to look at Raihan for clarification.

He cleared his throat. “Y’know.” he said again, intelligently, and Sonia’s snort was starting to become a trend he was tiring of. “Growing up.”

Leon buried his face in his hand. “God, not Hop. He’s still just a _baby._ ”

“He’s turning _12_ in literally a week.” Sonia pointed out, lifting her head from her Yamper, who had fallen asleep. “And that _baby_ did kick Raihan’s ass in his gym challenge.”

“Hey, watch it.” Raihan shot at her, “I turn down the difficulty somewhat in my gym challenge, I’ll have you know.”

Sonia raised an eyebrow at him, and he rolled his eyes.

“Point is, at some time in his life, it’s bound to happen, y’know?” He continued, watching the way Leon practically _deflated_ into his sofa’s pillows, melting against Raihan comfortably. “Did he, uh, disclose any more details?”

“He’s got a crush on someone.” Leon said, like as if it was bad news someone would receive at the hospital, and Raihan raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

“A crush?”

“It’s Victor.”

“Gloria.” Sonia said.

“Victgloria.” Leon grumbled, and Raihan blinked at him. “Oh, you know. Local enby baby champion, the new kid I endorsed to end my competitive career?”

“Ah.” Raihan hummed. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“No one is!” Sonia complained, and hugged Yamper again, and dear _Arceus_ was she _crying?_ “No one’s surprised at— _freaking_ —all! It’s so _cute_ I’m gonna die!”

“ _Yamper’s_ gonna die if you keep doing that.” Leon mumbled petulantly, and was met with a rude gesture from Sonia. “I just—I’m not ready for that. I’ve known Hop since he was in diapers, and now… now he’s…”

“A Gym Challenge semi-finalist, and almost a teenager.” Raihan said, shrugging when Leon looked at him witheringly. “Listen, if it bothers you so much, just keep an eye on them. I’m pretty sure Hop’s gonna be careful, I doubt he’d even hurt a fly.”

“It’s little Mx. Champion I’m worried about.” Leon mumbled, and Raihan smirked into the rim of his can. 

“Yeah, you’re right.” Considering the confident little bastard that had rolled up one day to Motostoke to register as Jersey #1 in outright defiance of Leon’s Champion status, Raihan would have to say that it was the object of Hop’s affections they should really worry about—but not really, if Raihan had anything to say about it. The kid was kind and gracious to the end, if a little bloated in the ego department, but he wasn’t about to go complaining about it when he knew someone _else_ who registered as #1 back in the day with the exact same idea to be Champion...

“They’ll be _fine,_ they’ll be _fine!_ ” Sonia urged in a singsong voice. “Can we go to sleep now? I can feel my synapses firing.”

“Let it be said that Professor Sonia, PhD in Dynamax Biophysics and Geolocation, really _cannot_ hold her liquor.” Leon rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Knock yourself out.”

And Sonia did, with a little grunt, and fell still on the floor, already fast asleep. Raihan snickered softly as he sipped at his energy drink, and peered at Leon, who was still considering his can of sparkling water with a frown. He huffed fondly, and moved his shoulder gently up to catch Leon’s attention. 

“How’re you doing, champ?” He asked, and Leon laughed softly. 

“Not the champ anymore.” He replied. 

“You know what I mean.”

“I… got to work on Rose Tower. Renovations will be done in a week.” Leon sighed, and took a swig of his drink. Raihan waited for him to continue patiently, but when it was clear that his best friend wasn’t going to say anything, he tried again. 

“How’s the criminal case?”

“Testifying again and again, it’s a media debacle.” Leon’s voice carried immense exhaustion, and Raihan hummed sympathetically at that. He knew Leon hadn’t caught a moment’s break ever since that night Rose set Eternatus free, but he wasn’t going to lie—Leon being awarded all of Rose’s properties and assets was no small consolation for the decade he’d spent under the man’s thumb. “I’m… exhausted, honestly.”

“I don’t blame you.” Raihan hummed, leaning against Leon’s side comfortingly, and the other man sighed in contentment. “So many counts to be tried for, and one by one… it’ll keep going on for a while.”

“Well, we’ve got no choice but to face it, don’t we?” Leon laughed tiredly. “We can’t tell the children about this.”

“Yeah, that’s a no from me, too.” Raihan agreed. “They’re taking a well-deserved break. Which takes us back to the topic at hand…”

“ _Raihan,_ ” Leon began exasperatedly. 

“Hey, hear me out.” Raihan laughed. “Like I said, just keep an eye on them. But don’t get between them, okay? If anything happens, this is something Hop has to sort out himself.”

Leon sighed, leaning heavily on Raihan. 

“C’mon, champ.” He chuckled softly. “Promise me?”

“We’re not 10 again, Rai.” Leon couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face, but he nodded, cuddling close to him as they did when they were children, and Raihan’s smile softened as they settled down together. “But okay, fine. I promise.”

Nothing’s changed, Raihan thought to himself, as he and Leon fell quiet. Even if the rest of the world had changed. 

Nothing would change.

He looked at Leon’s limp hand a breath’s edge away from his as his best friend settled into exhausted sleep, and did nothing about it.

* * *

Which is why Raihan felt nothing short of regret when he saw Leon appear in front of him one day while he was lounging under the sun at a cafe in Motostoke, out of his Battle Tower suit and in a more comfortable hoodie and jeans. He was about to greet him with a usual smile and a wave, when he stopped himself short of speaking at the sight of Leon’s expression on his face.

For a moment, the rush of bitter, cold fear made its way up Raihan’s throat—was it like before again, was all their efforts of setting Leon free not enough—when Leon wrapped his hand around Raihan’s wrist to ground the both of them, and the realisation sank in that yes, the trouble was over. Rose was gone, the Darkest Day was behind them, and they were okay.

Everything was okay.

Which begged the question—why, then, was Leon coming to him looking that distressed?

“Leon?” He asked, getting up from his seat, “What’s wrong?”

“I know I said I promised, but—” Leon began, and Raihan blinked at him confusedly. “Raihan, please. You have to come with me.”

“What’s—hey, tell me what I’m getting into first?” He asked, but he was already letting Leon pull him along. The other man already knew his answer was yes—there was no reason for Raihan to play coy, but that didn’t mean Raihan wasn’t worried. 

“Hop, he’s.” Leon swallowed awkwardly, unable to look over his shoulder at Raihan as they made their way to a Flying Taxi stand nearby, “They’re going to PokéLand.” And then told the same thing to the cabbie, who gave Leon a friendly smile and a tip of his hat in greeting.

“The new theme park in Hammerlocke?” Raihan blinked, but he let Leon bundle him into the basket as their cabbie climbed into the saddle on his Corviknight. “Why? Wait, _they?_ ”

“Hop and his crush!” Leon hissed, like as if their cabbie was going to hear what he said over the cry of the Corviknight as it took off into the air. Raihan blinked at him as he hunkered down in his seat, white-knuckled on the edge as he looked to the side worriedly. “They’re going on a… date.”

At once realisation clicked in Raihan’s head, and his expression fell.

“Leon, you promised.”

“I _know._ ” Leon sighed, “I… just this one time, please?” He looked up at him pleadingly, and Raihan deflated. He couldn’t say no when Leon looked at him _like that._ “Just this once, please just come with me to watch over them. I wanna make sure they’ll be alright.”

“You know, when Sonia and I chased you out of the Battle Tower to take a whole week off, this is _not_ how I imagined it would start off.” Raihan said, crossing his arms as he sat back in his seat, and Leon practically _withered_ at his response. He gave his best friend a wide grin to placate him, and Leon finally lit up. “I’m gonna have to stay with you to make sure you actually _rest_ the whole week, won’t I?”

“But you’ll come with me to PokéLand first?” Leon asked eagerly. 

“Only if you let me PokéGram it. I’ve been meaning to visit it anyway, since my followers keep asking me to.” Raihan winked at him, holding up his Rotom Phone and wiggling his fingers at Leon, raising an eyebrow. The other man laughed, running his hand through his hair in relief as he sat back in his seat, nodding. 

“Whatever you want, Rai.” He said, sighing as he smiled at Raihan warmly, and Raihan beamed at him. 

“Hell yeah I’m getting what I want,” He scoffed, “Or Sonia would have my ass if she found out that you’ve not been in bed the whole day today. Did you at least bring your meds with you, or am I going to have to ask one of your team to get it for you?”

“I, uh, got the… drops.” Leon said, rooting around his pockets for the eyedrops he’d been prescribed since Raihan airlifted Leon and the two children out from the top of Hammerlocke Stadium. He pulled the little bottle out for the other man to see, and Raihan shrugged, nodding once as he leaned back again in his seat. “Don’t worry, I won’t go scaring you again like I did last time.” He said, putting the little bottle back into his pocket.

Raihan sniffed, shrugging halfheartedly, and Leon gave him an apologetic smile as they fell quiet. Leon looked like he wanted to say something, but the both of them didn’t say a word when they realised their Flying Taxi was beginning to descend. The Corviknight that flew them there—Eddie Al, the name tag on its harness read—hopped down to the ground to let its rider get off, and the man gave the two of them a wide grin as he unlocked the carriage basket to let them out.

“It’s a real honour, Champion Leon.” He said, and did a double take, laughing sheepishly as he tried again, offering his hand for Leon to shake. “Erm, that’s not quite right. Sorry, Chairman Leon!”

“Happens all the time.” Leon gave him a little smile, but shook his hand anyway. The cabbie looked at Raihan as they let go, and tipped his hat at him. 

“And, of course, Leader Raihan.”

Raihan gave him a wink and a mock salute, which the man gleefully returned. The two young men stepped out of the Flying Taxi carriage, and Raihan could see the entrance to the new theme park. He could see a little further in the distance the window he could see it from his room at Hammerlocke Castle, and he smiled slightly to himself as he and Leon stood in line to get tickets to the theme park. 

“So, are they here already?” Raihan asked, resting his two hands behind his head as Leon rooted through his pockets for his wallet.

“Yeah,” Leon replied, “Hop sent me a text earlier.”

“So he’d know we’re here too.” 

“You said you wanted to see PokéLand, right? I just tagged along.” Leon said easily, and they shuffled onward at the line, ignoring the sound of the excited murmurs of people that had recognised them, and Raihan jumped at that.

“Oh? The king of Galar himself, Leon, is a schemer?” He teased, and Leon rolled his eyes at him, but he was smiling. “I never thought you’d have it in you. You’re literally a ray of sunshine.”

“Hop does more than enough shining for the both of us.” Leon shrugged. “Maybe the Chairman’s influenced me more than we realised.”

Raihan’s expression fell at that, and Leon sighed, shaking his head as they shuffled forward again, now just one person away from the counter. “How many times do I have to tell you that it wasn’t your fault?” He said quietly, and Leon gave him a sad little smile before he looked at the ticket counter. “ _Leon._ ”

“Oh, they’ve got discounts for Gym Challenge finalists.” He said pleasantly, dodging Raihan’s glance as he shifted away from his best friend. “Do you think they’ll honour an ex-Champion and a Gym Leader?”

Raihan frowned, but he couldn’t say much else when it was their turn at the counter. Leon strode forward ahead of him, and gave the starry-eyed young man behind the glass a sunny smile. 

“Hi,” he said, “Can Raihan and I avail the discount?”

“Ch-Champion Leon!” He stammered, and looked at Raihan. “A-and Leader Raihan!”

“Well, it's the off season, so I’m just Raihan, thanks.” Raihan laughed easily, giving the cashier a wink. He didn’t bother correcting him—while he respected the new Champion of Galar, there would only be just the one Champion in his heart. “Two tickets, please.”

“R-right away!” He nodded. “A-and of course! The discount applies to Champions and Gym Leaders as well!”

The cashier busied himself with getting their tickets sorted out, and Leon looked over at Raihan apologetically. 

“Hey,” he began, but Raihan shook his head. 

“You’ve been having a rough time lately, I get it.” He said, draping his arm over Leon’s shoulders, and his best friend smiled weakly. “Maybe you should just let PokéLand distract you instead, hm?”

“Yeah, right.” Leon huffed. “I’m here to watch over Hop.”

“And I’m here to watch over you.” Raihan flashed the cashier his card before the other man could protest, and Leon gave him an exasperated look when the cashier got to work on settling the payment. “My treat.”

“ _I’m_ the guy with way too much money,” Leon protested, gingerly watching Raihan get his card back. “And that’s _after_ the charity programs.”

“Then you’re using it in the right place.” Raihan said, accepting their tickets with a grateful nod. “Thanks.” He winked at the cashier, who lit up and nodded enthusiastically, waving at them as Raihan ushered Leon into the theme park. “Stick close to me, princess. I’ll make sure you won’t get lost.”

“Shut up,” Leon mumbled, but he was smiling somewhat. “I keep Charizard on me at all times, y’know. He can help me find my way if I get lost.”

“Yeah, and I’ve got Darude in my pocket just in case too.” Raihan nodded absently as he unfurled a map he picked up from the information desk they passed by earlier. “But I’d rather not cause a spectacle. My presence is attractive enough.”

“Ugh, shut up!” Leon laughed, and Raihan laughed along with him. Leon looked down at the map, and hummed thoughtfully. “Hop said they were waiting in line for the roller coaster.”

“How many minutes ago?” Raihan asked, pulling out his phone to check his social media timeline. Though he knew Hop and their new Champion weren’t quite the social media addicts like he was, he was sure that at the very least, he’d be able to spot them on any related hashtags he could find. Sure enough, on the hashtag for Hop, he saw a paparazzi photo of them heading for the carousel, and he looked at Leon expectantly. 

“About…” Leon looked at his watch. “15 minutes ago. Huh.”

“They’re going to the carousel.” Raihan said, showing Leon his phone, and the other man nodded. 

“Okay, let’s go!” He huffed, and stormed onward, much to the amazement of both Galar natives and foreign tourists alike. Raihan watched him leave, smiling to himself as Leon suddenly stopped a few feet away, and turned to look at Raihan, cheeks dark in embarrassment. “Er, which way was it?”

“C’mon.” Raihan shook his head fondly, walking up to him and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. “I’ll show you the way.”

* * *

A wooden Corviknight was less comfortable than his Flygon Darude’s back, Raihan thought to himself as he watched Leon sitting on a wooden Mudsdale’s back, squinting at Hop and his little date sitting next to each other on a wooden Arcanine and Rapidash, respectively. Carousel music played above their heads while friendly yellow-white lights sparkled along the edge of the roof, and beyond that, the flash of camera lights as Raihan absolutely _knew_ people were taking photos of them. 

It came with being a celebrity, of course, Raihan was used to the attention and he didn’t particularly mind, but what bothered him more was the amount of light bombarding them. 

Leon was still on eye medication after his botched attempt on catching Eternatus. Though Leon insisted he was fine, Raihan wasn’t so sure—especially with the way Leon was squinting at Hop like he was having a hard time seeing. 

“Hey, Leon—” he began, but Leon shook his head, his hair—now up in a ponytail—bouncing along with his movement. 

“Shh, they’ll hear us!”

Hell yeah, they’d been heard, Raihan thought glumly, meeting Hop’s date’s gaze every now and then, watching them point surreptitiously at Leon with an incredulous look on their face when Hop wasn’t looking. 

All Raihan could offer them was a helpless shrug, but he knew it was only a matter of time until—

Raihan watched them type on their phone, and his own phone buzzed in his pocket. His wooden Corviknight sank and rose sedately as Leon continued to strain his ears over the music to hear what Hop was talking to them about. 

_enby number 1: yo raihan why???_

Raihan sighed, and sent back a reply. 

_roarrrrrrrrr: i tried to stop him i swear_

_roarrrrrrrrr: obv i didn’t do a good enough job_

Galar’s new Champion gave Raihan a withering look, and he gave them a shrug. 

_roarrrrrrrrr: r u guys srsly on a daye_

_roarrrrrrrrr: date_

_enby number 1: he called it a hangout to my face. i call it a date in my head._

_roarrrrrrrrr: sweet baby lucario tell him already_

_enby number 1 sent a GIF._

Raihan frowned at the gif of an old man saying ‘no, I don’t think I will’ that they sent, and he blew them a raspberry. 

_enby number 1: besides dont u think adults should get ahead of kids like us_

Raihan blinked at the brunet, who whistled a little tune pleasantly, much to Hop’s delight. They shot him a surreptitious smirk, winking at him, and Raihan bristled. 

This arrogant little _fuck!_

“Rai?” Leon asked, and Raihan’s attention quickly shot from the smirking Champion next to an oblivious Hop to look at his best friend, who was starting to look a little faint. Immediately he forgot all about his irritation, concern the only thing on his mind as he reached out for Leon. 

“Hey, you okay?” He asked gently, and the other man shook his head. 

“I think the lights are… a little too bright.” Leon said faintly. “Is the ride nearly over?”

Raihan bit his lip. “I-I dunno.” He looked around, and made a decision. “Here.”

He shucked his jacket off, throwing it on Leon’s shoulders before pulling the hood up to cover his head. The smaller man spluttered in protest, but Raihan ignored him, pushing Leon’s hands aside to lower his hood to the point that it covered Leon’s eyes. He resolutely ignored the excited chattering from beyond the carousel, knowing he was feeding some sort of fire with what he was doing, but all he cared about right now was Leon’s safety. 

(Fuck the Champion, he thought. Fuck them and their shit-eating grin and the fact that they absolutely saw how _smitten_ he was with Leon just in his words during his Gym Challenge and the Championship Finals.)

“Th-thanks.” Leon said gingerly. “These damn stupid eyes…”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t fight the Champion the day immediately after you woke up, high on pain meds and revives, you’d be better by now.” Raihan grumbled, and Leon sheepishly chose not to reply. “Don’t let me get started on your new job, too. You’re not invincible, Leon.”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “I… I know that now.”

Raihan deflated at that, and they fell quiet as the carousel finally stopped turning. They could hear Hop and his date make their way out of the carousel, so Raihan and Leon followed after them, Leon completely unmindful of the way the public stared at him positively _swimming_ in Raihan’s jacket, resting his eyes as he trusted Raihan’s gentle but firm hand on his arm to lead the way. 

“Let’s get some drops in you.” Raihan said, and Leon nodded, letting the taller man lead him to a nearby bathroom building. It was mercifully empty—or, perhaps, park staff had emptied it out for them, and if the buzzing in Raihan’s pocket was of any indication, he could hazard a guess who was responsible for that. 

Mentally noting to thank the little Champion later, Raihan focused on finding Leon’s eye drops, feeling his cheeks burn when he realised he would have to dig around Leon’s jeans pockets to find them. 

“I-I, uh. Hey, Leon?” He stammered, and the shorter man straightened up. 

“Oh, right.” Leon pulled the little bottle out from his pocket before Raihan could ask for it, and he tried not to think about how disappointed he felt about it. “Here.”

“Right.” Raihan nodded awkwardly, and gingerly reached forward to brush his hood down from Leon’s head. It tumbled down his shoulders in a smooth glide, and the sight of Leon looking up at him with wide, trusting eyes made Raihan’s heart skip a beat. His cheeks felt warm as he cleared his throat. “How’s your vision?” He asked, grateful he didn’t sound too breathless. 

“I can’t see a thing.” Leon replied quietly, and only then did Raihan realise how unfocused his golden eyes were. 

“Damn… so the lights _were_ bothering you.”

“Not at the start.” Leon mumbled, but he gingerly lifted the bottle for Raihan to see. “Could you… um.” 

“Wh… you need me to drop them?” His cheeks were _definitely_ on fire now. Leon used Flamethrower, and it was super—fucking—effective. Raihan was almost _glad_ Leon couldn’t see the way his face flushed with the blood rushing to his cheeks. 

“I can’t see, Raihan.” Leon huffed, and looked absolutely _adorable_ pouting. Raihan was sure that there was definitely something that that shitheel of a Champion did to him to make him start thinking like this more frequently. “Please.”

“O-okay…” Raihan mumbled, plucking the bottle off Leon’s palm with a small pout, and he gingerly raised his hand slightly, hesitating before he could let himself touch Leon’s face. “I’m gonna… is it okay if I held you still?”

“Sure thing.” Leon replied, and Raihan gently held his chin. He could feel Leon flinch at his initial touch, but when he realised that Raihan did nothing else, he fell still, blankly not-staring at Raihan’s face with unfocused golden eyes. “I can keep my eyes open by myself.” 

“Right…” Raihan mumbled, unscrewing the cap with one hand before he dropped two droplets of medication on his friend’s eyes. Leon blinked a few times, and Raihan watched the way tears rolled down Leon’s cheeks not unlike the last time he and Leon were alone together in a bathroom in a quiet, intimate moment. 

“ _It hurts,_ ” Leon had said then, clutching Raihan’s hoodie like his life depended on it, the rush of emotions from his cracking heart overflowing from his eyes. “ _Oh, Arceus, it hurts. Was it like this with you all the time?_ ”

Loss—never something anyone liked feeling.

It got easier with time, Raihan told Leon, and he felt his own chest tighten as he heard the sound of Leon’s hiccupping sobs echoing through the empty— _locked_ —bathroom. 

“ _Why did I keep doing this to you?_ ” He’d asked, hugging Raihan close. “ _I never should’ve done this to you._ ”

He didn’t know what to say when Leon asked that. He couldn’t imagine a life where their positions were reversed, no matter how much he said that someday he would beat him. He supposed it hurt differently, to someone like Raihan who was used to loss, this was like a Durant bite to the wrist. 

To Leon, someone wholly unused to loss—well. It was probably something even Raihan couldn’t imagine. 

Now, though, he could imagine that day again, watching tears roll down Leon’s cheeks. 

Raihan bit his lip. 

He was beautiful. There was no denying it. Even Nessa had mentioned it a few times in their childhood, and, hell, when they first met, Raihan thought Leon was a girl. Absently, Raihan cupped Leon’s cheek and thumbed away his teartracks, feeling the pleasant warmth of the other man’s skin on his palm with a sigh, and Leon leaned into his touch, his eyes sliding shut as they stood there together in quiet contentment. 

Raihan did eventually realise what he did—in literally a second after Leon pressed his cheek into his palm—but he decided not to say anything about it, content on letting the moment last, until Leon opened his eyes again, wincing.

“I feel like a Combee shat in my eyes.” He grunted, and Raihan laughed weakly, reluctantly pulling his hand away to hold two fingers up. 

“How many fingers, champ?” He asked, and Leon squinted at them for a long moment, before nodding to himself.

“Two.” He said, and Raihan nodded, turning to the sink to wash his hands for lack of anything better to do. “Hey, Rai?”

“Yeah?” Raihan tried to surreptitiously avoid Leon’s gaze by looking at his phone. His eyes widened slightly when he did see a text from the little Champion, opening it up to see that they’d told him they would be heading to the arcade in ten minutes. 

Leon’s hand slid over Raihan’s phone to lower it, and the taller man forced himself to meet Leon’s gaze as he moved forward into Raihan’s personal space, looking hopefully up into his eyes. 

“Thanks.” He murmured, cheeks pinking, and Raihan could only blink at him as Leon pulled away, withering slightly. “So, um. I’m sorry about getting us sidetracked. We’ve lost them again, haven’t we?”

“Actually,” Raihan said, sliding his phone into his pocket as he cleared his throat awkwardly—he didn’t need to do that, right? What gives? He straightened up, and gave Leon a lopsided little smile. “I think I know where they are.”

Leon blinked at him, and Raihan wrapped his hand around his wrist. 

“C’mon, princess.” He said, “I’ll make sure you won’t get lost.”

Leon rolled his eyes at that, but he was smiling, striding forward to match his stride with Raihan’s as he pulled the other man’s hood back up over his head. His hand moved down to lace their fingers together, and Raihan jumped, looking down dumbly at their joined hands, and then at Leon, bewilderment clear on his face. 

“Nothing’s changed, you know.” Leon said, his smile the only thing visible from under Raihan’s hoodie. “Thanks, Raihan. I mean it.”

Raihan tried to shrug nonchalantly, pressing his wide, goofy smile behind his hand.

Leon ducked his head further, and hid his own wide grin under the wide brim of Raihan’s hoodie.

* * *

The peaceful, pink-tinted air between Leon and Raihan dissipated not long after they could hear Hop cheering, Leon immediately back on alert as he pulled Raihan’s hood down from his head. He pulled Raihan along with him to hide behind some machines to watch as Hop cheered his date on as they shot down plush after plush on the stands across them with an airsoft rifle. 

Raihan whistled. “Damn. The kid’s good.”

“It’s kinda pissing me off.” Leon mumbled, watching as Hop accepted a giant Wooloo plush from the beaming Champion, and Raihan huffed. 

“Yeah, same.” He said, looking around at the crowd they’d gathered, and sighed. “Y’know what, I’m not standing for this.”

“Raihan?” Leon asked, but he let out an undignified squeak of alarm as the taller man grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards them. His eyes widened and he struggled against Raihan’s hold. “H-hey, wait! They’re gonna find out—”

“The entirety of Pidgetter already knows, Leon.” Raihan deadpanned, but he did lift his hood over Leon’s head again as they approached Hop and his date. “The kids were bound to find out we’re here, too.”

Hop finally turned around to see them when the hullabaloo they’d caused caught his attention, and he lit up when he saw Raihan toting Leon around behind them. 

“Lee! You came!”

“Y-yeah…” Leon laughed weakly as Raihan let him go, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Raihan wanted to see PokéLand when I told him you guys were here, so…”

“Yeah, it’s been real wicked!” Hop nodded excitedly. “Ooh, Champ, mate! Raihan’s picking up an airsoft gun, too!”

The brunette gave him an easy nod, smirking slightly at Raihan as he loaded up the airsoft gun with a huff. They elbowed him lightly, and pointed at a Charmander plush on the top shelf. “Up there, buddy.”

“Shut the hell up,” Raihan hissed at them halfheartedly, and they laughed into their fist as he took aim. “Sneaky little bastard.”

“You’re welcome.” They murmured, as Leon and Hop turned to each other for conversation. The brunet looked at them over their shoulder, and Raihan elbowed them back. 

“Thanks for earlier, by the way.” He said, and they smiled slightly. “Leon’s fine now, before you ask.”

“I’m glad.” They nodded. “Honestly, I was surprised to see you two here. I didn’t think Leon could make it.”

“You _are_ on a date with his precious little brother.” Raihan snorted. 

“Can’t argue with that.” They chuckled fondly, shaking their head. 

Raihan grinned, but turned his attention back to the top shelf, where the Charmander plush was, and took aim. 

“Oh! Leader Raihan misses his first shot.” The young man at the stand announced, and the crowd tittered in interest as Raihan lowered his gun, frowning. “He’s only got four shots left, folks! Will he get his own little Charizard?”

Raihan fought the wince that threatened to show. Shit, he’d been discovered immediately, had he? Or was that because he was with Leon?

“Do they _have_ to do that?” He heard Leon hiss at Hop, who shrugged helplessly. 

“He’s been doing that since we got here.” He said gingerly. Raihan peered at the brunet next to him, who also shrugged.

“I can shrug it off.” They said easily. “Can _you,_ big guy?”

“Watch it, kid. I’m ranked just beneath you.” Raihan grinned, and fired again.

“The adorable Grass-type Whimsicott goes down!” The stall keeper announced, and their audience cheered. “But it’s not the mighty Charmander we’re looking for! Three more shots, folks!”

“I swear to Arceus I’m going to fire on this bastard instead,” Raihan muttered, and the champion next to him stifled their laughter behind their hand as he fired again.

“Ooh! A near miss at the Trapinch next to Charmander! Could it be that Leader Raihan was aiming for something else altogether? Two shots left at the Charmander, or the Trapinch?”

“ _Oh, my fucking—_ ” Raihan swore under his breath, when he stopped himself as he heard someone in the crowd around them say something interesting.

“It’s gonna take two shots to down Charmander!” They said, and his frown deepened. He straightened up, lowering the airsoft gun as he considered the way the plush was hung up on the shelf. True enough, there were two bars supporting its stubby little legs as it leaned against the Trapinch he’d nearly hit, and he would need to hit it twice to get it over the two poles. Taking a steadying breath, he took aim again—

“Like this.” He heard Leon’s voice in his ear, and his eyes widened when a hand lifted the barrel of the airsoft gun just as he pulled the trigger.

The Charmander jerked, and teetered slightly. 

Raihan jerked away from Leon as the other man grinned at him knowingly, watching the way the Charmander plush teetered on the edge of its supports. The crowd burst into cheers as Leon gently took the airsoft gun from Raihan’s limp hands, lightly bumping his hip against Raihan’s side to get him to move aside as the taller man simply stared at him, slack-jawed.

“Hop, could you…” Leon began, but Hop was quick to wrap his hand around Raihan’s wrist, pulling him back to stand with him with a wide grin as Leon pulled Raihan’s hood down off his head, rolling up the too-large sleeves of his jacket before settling into a stance, aiming carefully at the top shelf. 

“Oh! What a turn of events!” The stall keeper cheered, and the crowd went wild. “Chairman Leon himself has taken hold of the airsoft gun for the final two shots! Their rivalry never ceases, even off the Gym pitch!” 

Leon gave the crowd a wink, earning him cheers as their new Champion struck Leon’s famous Charizard pose, and Raihan finally snapped out of his stupor. His shock settled into a fond smile as he saw Leon and their new Champion handle the crowd like second nature, and beside him, Hop sighed happily.

“They truly are the coolest people I’ve ever met.” He said dreamily, and Raihan couldn’t help but nod along, humming in agreement.

“Yeah.” He said quietly, as the crowd died down to let Leon concentrate. Raihan watched Leon take aim—

“Oh!” The stall keeper jumped up and down. “What a surprise! Chairman Leon takes home the Trapinch _next_ to Leader Raihan’s desired Charmander! Perhaps we’re looking forward to a Flygon with him in the near future?” 

“I don’t think I’m cut out for that,” Leon laughed kindly as he put the airsoft gun down, nodding his thanks as the keeper handed him the large Trapinch plush, the soft head sagging down over his arm from the weight of it. He turned to look at Raihan, and beamed at him brightly. “But I know a man who took care of an injured little Trapinch back on Route 6, until he was the strongest Flygon I know.” 

Raihan gaped at him as Leon held the Trapinch out for him to take, cocking his head kindly. 

“I think this little guy has a better home with you, don’t you think?”

“Oh, Arceus, Leon, you’re such an asshole.” Raihan laughed helplessly as he let Leon drop the Trapinch plush into his arms. Still, he hugged it gladly, remembering the time when Darude, still a Trapinch when he was 11, rested in his arms when he was a child. 

The way the plush felt was a bit different—Darude, of course, was a living, breathing Pokémon that had a heartbeat and a radiating warmth and weight, but Leon’s Trapinch had its good qualities, too.

Mainly, that it came from Leon. Leon had won it for him. 

(That, and it was ridiculously soft. He could absolutely fall asleep on this with Duraludon, and the rest of his team.)

“Wait! Would you look at that!” The keeper beamed as he picked up a plush off the floor. “It’d been knocked down by the falling Trapinch on its way down—everyone, Leader Raihan has another friend to take home, too!” He held up a small plush Applin, and Raihan tried not to think about the implications of that as Leon accepted it from the keeper with another nod of thanks. Their new Champion definitely _was,_ though, looking right at Raihan with that knowing, shit-eating grin that he _really_ wanted to wipe off their face right about now. 

“An Applin, huh…” They leered, and Raihan kicked at their ankles. Leon, to his credit, decided to tuck the Applin into Raihan’s jacket—that he was _still wearing,_ go figure—and grinned at their audience. 

“I think I’ll keep this friend to myself.” He said with a wink, and Raihan blinked at him. 

He’d seen this Leon before—the Leon that faced the press. The showbiz one that sometimes played coy, sometimes sweet, to his fans. He deflated slightly at that, the Trapinch in his arms sagging slightly, but sure enough, with the new Champion’s help, Leon managed to disperse the crowd, leaving them mostly alone at the arcade with their winnings. 

Hop was already cuddling his plush Wooloo, going a mile an hour chatting his date’s ear off about how much he missed his Wooloo—but of course, he still loves his Dubwool—and that he was so grateful they got it for him. Leon strode up to Raihan with a little grin, looking down at the Trapinch in his arms. 

“Could’ve gotten both, y’know.” He said, stuffing his hands in the jacket’s pockets, where Raihan knew the Applin was. “Charmander and Trapinch. Just like way back when, right?”

“Yeah, well, I can’t be you, can I?” Raihan grinned slightly at him, and Leon’s smile was warm. Raihan shook his head fondly, chuckling. “Guess I kinda gatecrashed Hop’s date, huh.” 

“No, he was really happy to see us.” Leon shook his head. “Apparently, there’s been something bothering him lately—well, the both of them, actually, and this was one way they could unwind.” He watched the two children busy themselves with Hop’s new Wooloo plush, and he smiled softly. “I’m glad we came.”

Raihan watched the way Leon’s expression softened at the two children, and smiled. 

“Me too.” He said, and squeezed his new Trapinch a little. Leon turned to look at him, and gave him a grin.

“I was thinking of inviting the two of them to have dinner with us, but I don’t know where.” Leon said, “Do you know anywhere we could go?”

“I remember I read rave reviews about this restaurant inside the park.” Raihan replied, pulling out his phone with some difficulty thanks to his new friend hanging off his arm. Leon made a move to take it from him to help, but Raihan held it high above Leon’s head, smirking. “Nuh uh. You gave this to me.” 

“I was just—” Leon began, blinking at him confusedly as he tried to reach for it in vain. “Rai, I’m trying to _help_ you.”

“And I’m trying to keep my new baby away from you.” He replied, and realisation sank in Leon’s eyes, Raihan’s grin telling him everything he needed to know. He pulled away, laughing helplessly into his hand as Raihan lowered the Trapinch plush again to look at his phone. “Yeah, there it is. Andalou, right down the central road.” 

“Hey!” Leon turned to call the two children over, and they looked at them expectantly. “Come along with us, you two. I’ll shoulder our dinner.” 

“Oh!” The brunet lit up as Hop bounced up and down on his feet. “Yes, please!” 

They hurried after Leon and Raihan delightedly, and the two men shared a kind laugh as they all followed Raihan towards the restaurant. 

“By the way,” Raihan said, out of earshot of the two busy children behind them. “Care to explain that stunt earlier at the arcade?” 

“I can still see, you know, it’s not like I’m _blind_.” Leon huffed, crossing his arms. “And you should know better than anyone else, Rai. I take my time and analyse _everything,_ from Pokémon battles to silly little arcade games where I can win you the giant Trapinch plush you deserve.” 

“I’m bitter about that, y’know.” Raihan made a show of sniffing petulantly. “I was gonna win the Charmander for _you._ ”

“Well, you’ll just have to try again.” Leon chuckled. “I won’t expect anything less, rival.” 

“You bet I’ll be back. I’ll _always_ come back for your ass.” Raihan grinned, and Leon’s answering smile was _beautiful._ “Whether it’s for a decade of loss, an outnumbered idiot facing a giant dragon monster… thing, or even an overweight Charmander plush.”

Leon laughed at that, and bumped their shoulders together.

“That’s all I can ask of you, Rai.” He said warmly. “There’s nothing I would want more.”

Behind them, Hop and the Champion shared a knowing look, and they grinned widely. 

“It’s working,” Hop hissed quietly, and the brunet nodded. “Let’s keep this up!”

“Yeah.” The Champion sighed, watching as Hop skipped after his brother and the object of his affections, laughing tiredly to themselves as they ran their hand through their hair. “If only it worked for more than just Leon and Raihan…”

“Keep up, kid!” Raihan called at them, and they blinked, realising they’d fallen back. “Or I’m gonna leave you to starve outside!”

“Hey!” Hop protested, and they smiled brightly.

“Coming!” They called, running after them.

* * *

“We’re going to the Ferris wheel next.” Hop said past the chips in his mouth, looking eagerly up at his brother and Raihan, who had stopped eating to stare at them. “Thought it’d be a neat way to see Galar from way high up at night! Mum never let me go on a Flying Taxi at night, so…”

“With good reason!” Leon huffed, crossing his arms. Raihan could see the way his jacket bulged at where Leon’s arms squeezed the Applin plush still inside there somewhere, and he felt his cheeks warm up at the thought. He coughed delicately, nodding half heartedly as he looked at his plush Trapinch on top of Hop’s Wooloo on their own chair. 

“Yeah, but I’m a Gym Challenge finalist now! I can stay out late!” Hop shot back petulantly, “And I’ve got my good mates with me, so no problems with that, right?”

Leon frowned at the Champion, who whistled pleasantly at their food, unable to meet his gaze. Raihan gave them an encouraging look, and they shrugged. 

“What about you and Raihan?” They asked, and Leon blinked at them owlishly. Raihan’s encouragement turned into dry disappointment, and the smile on their lips bordered on smug. “You two haven’t been able to enjoy the park thoroughly, right? You kinda arrived late.”

“Yeah, we did.” Raihan said, “I didn’t get to PokéGram it.” 

“Guess you’ll just have to come back.” They grinned cheekily at him, and Raihan blew them a raspberry. 

“Oh, absolutely.” Leon nodded sagely, unaware of their bickering. “And this time, _I’m_ paying.”

He gave Raihan a sharp look, and the other man raised his hands defensively, laughing. 

“Fine, fine. Can’t believe my vlog this month is sponsored by Chairman Leon himself!” He drawled, waving a server over to ask for the bill. When they came over to hand Raihan the little black leather pocket that held their receipt, Leon quickly took it from their hands before Raihan could, and slipped his card into the sleeve without looking at the receipt. 

“Hey.” Raihan raised an eyebrow at Leon, who gave him an easy shrug. 

“My invite, my treat.” He said, and the two children with them beamed brightly. 

“Must be nice to hang out with the Chairman all the time.” The Champion said, and Raihan’s head whipped around to look at them. “Look at all these perks!”

“Wicked, ain’t it!” Hop nodded sagely. “Thanks, Lee!”

“Anytime.” Leon nodded graciously, and waved them off. “You two go on ahead. We’ll wait up for my card.”

“Sure thing.” The brunet nodded, picking up Hop’s Wooloo from underneath Raihan’s Trapinch for their date, and Hop gave them a sweet smile. “We’re off, guys!”

“Take care.” Raihan waved at them lazily as Leon offered them a smile. Together, the two children held the Wooloo by its stubby little paws and walked out of the restaurant together, a delightful spring in their step. The taller man looked over at Leon, head cocked and a smile tugging at his lips. “You let them go ahead.”

“It’s so we can _follow,_ Rai.” Leon said, smiling at the server who brought them his card back. “You need someone ahead of you to follow them, you know.”

“Oh, I know that better than anyone.” Raihan sniffed, shaking his head as he picked up the Trapinch from its lonely chair, and Leon’s expression fell as he watched Raihan get up. “Jeez, I’m messing with you. C’mon, get up before we miss the kids.”

Leon smiled at him gingerly, and got up as well, pulling Raihan’s jacket sleeves down over his hands as they strode out into the main street of the theme park. Raihan’s eyes widened slightly as he looked up at the sky, and Leon followed his example, watching as the beginnings of snow began to fall. A little snowflake caught on Raihan’s dreads, and he huffed fondly, brushing another snowflake off his Trapinch’s head. 

“Snow. That wasn’t in the Rotom forecast.” He muttered as Leon shrugged, making a move to take Raihan’s jacket off. 

“Do you need it back?” He asked, but Raihan shook his head, holding up the Trapinch Leon won for him. 

“I’ve got this huge bugger in my arms, I’ll be warm.” He said, and Leon elbowed him lightly.

“But I thought dragons were weak to ice?”

“Not this one!” Raihan huffed proudly, puffing out his chest, and Leon laughed into the hem of Raihan’s sleeves. “I’ve been training up, I mean it!”

“I know.” Leon chuckled, nudging him onwards. “Let’s just hope you really don’t freeze to death when we’re high up in the sky.”

Raihan rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “Okay, princess.” He drawled, and Leon smacked at his arm lightly. “Let’s head there before Hop gets a taste of true love’s first kiss, shall we?”

“ _Raihan!_ ” Leon spluttered, and the taller man burst out laughing. 

“Kidding, kidding! I’m sure the little Champ wouldn’t do that!”

They would, they absolutely _would,_ he thought. But only if Hop let them.

* * *

Raihan never really understood the appeal of Ferris wheels. He was used to flying around at night on Darude’s back in nightly laps for both him and his Pokémon’s benefits, watching the lights of Galar flicker and dance far below him as Darude got to stretch his wings for yet another night. He was used to the sights from the sky, and he could never really understand why Sonia was head over heels with romance shows that quite prominently feature the night skyline from a Ferris wheel.

He never quite understood—not until he saw Leon surrounded by a halo of glittering lights as their Ferris wheel carriage rose above the ground. His hood was back down over his shoulders, letting Raihan see that Leon had pulled his hair back down in a sweep over his shoulder to keep it from bunching under his hood. 

He fell quiet next to his Trapinch that he’d set down on the bench next to him while Leon busied himself with looking out the window, probably to try and find his little brother and his date a few carriages away from them. If he was any less distracted than he already was, Raihan would remember that the design of their carriages straight from Poké Puffs, made famous in the Kalos region. He’d actually _eaten_ one at some point on a dare from Nessa on one of the Gym Leader holiday bonding trips. 

Right now, though, all he could focus on was the sight before him; a mirror of a time a long time ago in the beautiful gleam of the mushrooms of Glimwood Tangle, hand in hand with a much younger Leon in the darkness.

Ten years ago, two little boys got lost in a forest of fairy lights, following in vain a friend’s voice pouring sweetly from a grinning little fairy Pokémon’s open maw. Raihan and his little Vibrava led a limping Leon and his protective Charmeleon until everything seemed bleak, both boys holding back tears as they settled down under the brim of a wide, blue mushroom. 

“ _What if a Pokémon attacks us?_ ” Leon had asked him, hand shaking and bleeding in Raihan’s, and the other boy huffed as bravely as he could.

“ _Then I’ll fight them off._ ” He said.

“ _But dragon-types are weak to fairy-types!_ ” Leon protested, but Raihan shook his head.

“ _Not this one!_ ” He gave Leon a wide grin, thumping his chest before striking a pose not unlike a roaring dragon. “ _I’ve been training up, I mean it!_ ”

The way Leon looked at him like Raihan had already saved them sealed the deal, Raihan thought. It came with the definitive _click_ of the proverbial padlock that Leon had around Raihan’s heart. 

“Look, Rai.” Leon said, the sound of Leon’s voice stirred Raihan from his thoughts when he felt the man’s hand wrap around his own, and he looked up from where their hands were intertwined to realise that Leon was looking at him with such tenderness in his eyes, pulling his heart up from his chest to lodge in his throat. 

“Lee?” He asked gingerly, the tendrils of the past clinging to his distracted mind pulling with it a childhood nickname that put a smile on Leon’s face, gentle hands pulling Raihan up from his seat to sit next to him. “What’s…”

“Look,” Leon said again, pointing outside, and Raihan realised they were looking down at Hammerlocke Stadium, right at the ruined rooftop that Raihan had yet to get around to sorting out how to get it renovated. 

At the back of his mind, he regretted not listening to Sebastian complaining to him about getting it fixed, because now, it _definitely_ was an eyesore. 

“Oh, fuck.” He hissed, shaking his head. “That’s where—”

“You saved me.” Leon said quietly. “And the children, too.”

Raihan fell silent at that, not sure on what to say. That night was a scramble of memories for him, but he’d been mostly busy feeling furious at Rose for messing up his home, _and_ his territory. He also had his hands full with evacuating all the staff and trainers left in the gym that night, and then evacuating the surrounding areas of civilians while a terrible, horrifying sound and sensation shook the very air around them high above his head on the top of his castle. 

So much for being a dragon that protected his home, he’d thought at the time, for letting Rose just waltz in there without so much as a question of why, much too caught up with Leon’s match at Wyndon to care. He’d arrived too late, in the end, pushing Darude to his limit to get to the roof just in time to watch the little Champion stuff Eternatus into an Ultra Ball with a panicked shout. 

When the dust settled, Hop ran to his brother, who lay unmoving at the side the whole battle, shielded by a panicked, terrified Charizard who didn’t know what to do. 

The castle’s power had died, the lift wasn’t working, so Raihan and Darude had to fly up and down from the roof to save Hop, the little Champion, and Leon himself. 

“I… saved you?” He echoed. “I don’t think anything I did was worth calling that.”

Leon laughed softly, shaking his head. 

“You know, it was a race against time.” He said quietly. “No one knew what direct exposure to Galar particles did to people.” Leon met Raihan’s gaze, smiling. “But you got me to a hospital in time.”

“I was…” Raihan hesitated, “I was just…”

Protecting his territory? His castle? 

Leon chuckled fondly, shaking his head. “It’s not like you to be denying heroic responsibility, Raihan.” He said. “Or do you remember what happened on that roof differently?”

“I thought you’d been hurt. Permanently.” He said, and Leon pursed his lips. Raihan felt his cheeks grow warm, shaking his head as he tore his gaze away from the ruined rooftop to lean back on the seat next to Leon with a sigh. “I got so damn worried when you told me you couldn’t see. I still… I still _do._ ”

“I know.” Leon nodded, and gently laced their fingers together. “I… I’m glad you do.”

Raihan jumped at the quiet admission, staring dumbly at their hands as he thought back to Glimwood Tangle.

The night-like day, then, when Raihan realised that he wore Leon’s heart around his name, all those years ago.

The day-like night, now, when Raihan realised that Leon might have been doing the same.

“You know that I got worried not just because I was worried about our rivalry being in danger, right?” He asked gingerly, and Leon laughed. 

“Listen, I may be a bit of an airhead, Rai,” Leon drawled, “But even I can tell if we’re true friends or not.” 

He squeezed Raihan’s hand just as shyly as Raihan felt. 

“And, um…” 

Outside, the snow fell from the beating wings of a Frosmoth, and Raihan turned away to look at it as it flew past their carriage. 

“Hah, I can’t believe that they’d actually—” He laughed weakly, turning around to look at Leon, but he cut himself off at the way Leon looked at him. He swallowed nervously as he looked down at their hands, and squeezed Leon’s hand back. “I, uh…”

“Raihan.” Leon murmured. 

“Leon.”

Somehow, their words were enough. The years they spent together bridged the rest of the gap their companionable silence made, and twin smiles spread across their lips as their hearts met halfway.

They stayed quiet as their carriage reached the peak of the Ferris wheel, just a little bit above the height where the Frosmoth orbited the park at a sedate pace. Up there, the Ferris wheel creaked quietly, and came to a stop. 

Neither trainer seemed to mind. 

“I care about you a lot.” Raihan said, after a long moment of silence. 

“I know.” 

“I…” Raihan’s expression tightened. “Despite that, I still want to beat you someday.” 

Leon laughed softly, nodding. “I know.”

“And I…” Raihan finally laughed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you’re really making me say this before you do.”

“You need someone ahead of you to follow them, you know.” Leon smiled. 

“Oh, so _here,_ you’re willing to concede?” Raihan raised an eyebrow at him, smirking, and Leon laughed nervously, sinking into the jacket he was practically _swimming_ in gingerly.

“I… I’d always thought you were the one with more experience with this kind of stuff.” He said, and Raihan blinked at him owlishly. “Oh, _c’mon._ I follow your social media, y’know. I know you had a fling with Nessa at some point—”

“That was _before_ she finally realised she was a lesbian!”

“—And I know you’ve had people here and there.” Leon confessed, turning pink. “I’d… been keeping a close eye. I’m—I’m really embarrassed to admit that.”

“I didn’t think you cared.” Raihan breathed. 

“The chairman never gave me the time of day to care.” Leon sighed. “Or, at least, to show it.” He peered at Raihan past his bangs. “Rai, I have so many issues that Chairman Rose left behind on me.”

“I know.” Raihan smiled fondly. 

“A-and… I have a whole _company_ to run and a battle tower to manage—”

“ _I know._ ” Raihan chuckled. “I’ve been running a gym since I was legally allowed to, y’know.”

Leon looked at him exasperatedly, and Raihan rolled his eyes.

“Leon, I like you.” He finally said, and Leon’s eyes lit up. “No, scratch that—I love you. I’ve loved you since we were kids. Since that day you and I got lost at Glimwood Tangle, and all we had was each other while I promised you I’d protect you like some hero I thought I was.”

“And then that Hatterene came by and vibe checked us into next week.” Leon laughed softly, and Raihan shook his head, unable to stop himself from laughing along with him. “And Opal found us and took us to the Ballonlea Pokémon Centre to recover.” 

“God, we were such stupid kids,” Raihan laughed, and Leon sobered up, still smiling.

“We still are, I think.” He said. “Facing off a giant space monster alone.”

“Letting some power conglomerate build his bonkers monster machine underneath home turf.” Raihan nodded, and Leon’s smile widened. “I think we’re just right for each other.”

Leon shook his head, sighing. “Raihan, I love you so much.”

“I know.” Raihan winked at him, and Leon laughed as he squeezed his hands. “We’ll make it work.”

“Yeah.” Leon nodded. “Knowing you and I, I know we can.”

Raihan grinned at him, and leaned forward—

“Rai,” Leon said gingerly, stopping him halfway. “I think… the Ferris wheel really _is_ stuck.”

Raihan paused, frowning, and far below them, he could hear police sirens, and the powerful beat of police Corviknight units’ wings. 

“Oh, Arceus.” He grumbled darkly, as Leon laughed, pulling away from him to pat his hand. “I am so _mad_ right now.”

“Next time, we’ll get it.” Leon said reassuringly, turning around to undo the emergency latch of their carriage door, and Raihan rolled his eyes. “You promised, Rai! We’ll make it work!” 

He threw his Charizard’s Pokéball out into the cool air, releasing it from its container with a powerful cry. They heard the sound of a Pokémon being released a few carriages away from them, and Raihan just knew that that was their new Champion doing the exact same thing Leon was doing with their own flying-type.

(Oh, Gyarados. Yes. The famous dark type Pokémon they used to fight off all of Allister’s ghosts.) 

Leon jumped out of the carriage to the sound of amazed cheers from the crowd of people below them, and he winked at Raihan. 

“I’ll see you downstairs, handsome.” He said, and with a bright laugh at Raihan’s stupefied expression, dove his Charizard down towards the ground. 

Raihan sat there, staring dumbly at the space that Leon left, but he quickly recovered, shaking his head as he grinned. 

“That _asshole!_ ” He laughed, releasing Darude outside the carriage, beaming as his Pokémon let out a delighted cry, beating its wings powerfully. He picked up the Trapinch plush from the bench, laughing again when he saw Darude light up at the sight of it, and leapt out of the carriage with the full faith that Darude would catch him midair in a dramatic stunt.

(He loved doing that when he was alone in the sky. Tonight, with the rush of his confirmed feelings, he felt like he could do anything.)

He was met with cheers of delight as Darude caught him and his new Trapinch plush, and he patted the Flygon’s neck, nodding in approval. It looked back at him with keen interest, looking at the plush expectantly, and Raihan shook his head.

“I’ll introduce you guys later.” He said. “C’mon, D. We’re doing rescue missions tonight.” 

He flew down to start helping people down from their carriages, along with Leon on his Charizard, and the little Champion (and Hop!) on their beautifully proud shiny Gyarados.

* * *

“Wait until you see the headlines tomorrow.” Leon laughed as he and Raihan got down from Darude’s back on the helipad above Leon’s penthouse apartment. “They’ll be singing the little kid’s praises to the heavens!”

“Psh, we helped out.” Raihan mumbled, but he had to admit that the little Champion and Hop’s way of steadying Gyarados’s body to fit more people on its back was impressive. 

“They’ll definitely be singing your praises too, Leader Raihan.” Leon said cheekily, and Raihan rolled his eyes, elbowing him in the side. 

“And yours too, Chairman!” Raihan blew him a raspberry, and Leon laughed brightly. They walked towards the access door from the roof to the penthouse, and came to a stop when they approached it. Their laughter died down as they slowed down, and they gingerly faced each other at the door. 

“So, uh.” Leon said intelligently. “I suppose… it’s time to go home.”

“Y-yeah.” Raihan nodded, the ease in their conversation suddenly gone as awkwardness returned between them. He peered uneasily at Darude, who was snuggling against the Trapinch plush delightedly, and he smiled at the sight of his Pokémon. “I gotta, uh. Get Darude back home, and stuff.”

“Yeah, of course.” Leon nodded, but his expression fell somewhat. Raihan blinked at him for a long moment, before it finally clicked.

He smiled fondly at the sight of Leon refusing to meet his gaze, and leaned forward to press a kiss to the corner of his lips. The smaller man jumped, letting out an undignified squeak of alarm, moving away from Raihan in embarrassment.

“Hey,” Raihan began, trying not to laugh. “I got cucked up there of a kiss. I deserved that.”

“I-I guess so.” Leon stammered, but he was smiling, too. “C-can I…?”

“Sure.” Raihan, nodded, and poked his cheek. “You can start here if it makes you— _mmph!_ ” 

Leon grabbed him by the lapels and mashed their mouths together. Raihan stiffened for a moment in alarm, but he relaxed soon after that, kissing Leon back and moving his lips against his, grinning as he felt Leon shiver in delight at the new sensation. 

“You can move your lips too, y’know.” He murmured against Leon’s mouth, and he swallowed the other man’s moan as he pressed in again in a heated kiss. 

He let Leon pull away first, panting heavily as Raihan grinned at him. 

“I’ll teach you how to do it next time.” He gave Leon a mock salute, and the other man laughed incredulously, nodding as he ran his hand through his hair. “That a deal?”

“Deal.” Leon grinned. “Go on. Darude looks like he’s gonna freeze to death, the poor thing.”

“Right.” Raihan nodded, and jogged back to his Flygon, taking the plush Trapinch from its little arms to tuck under his arm. He hopped up onto its back, and beamed at Leon. “Seeya, Lee!”

He lightly nudged Darude to take off into the air, and they both hesitated when they heard Leon call out to them.

“By the way!” He shouted, and Raihan jumped when he saw something red come flying at him at breakneck speed. He let out a shout of protest, reaching out to catch it, and his cheeks immediately heated up when he realised it was the plush Applin Leon had won earlier, too. He looked incredulously down at Leon, who gave him a wide grin. “That’s yours, since I won it for you too!” 

An Applin. Raihan shook his head, laughing helplessly as he ran his hand through his dreads.

“I want one from you too!” Leon shouted, and Raihan gave him a salute.

“As you wish, Princess!” he called back, and flew away to the sound of Leon’s laughter in the air.

As Raihan flew back to Hammerlocke, he smiled goofily to himself, pressing the plush Applin close to his heart.

Fuck, he thought. So this was love.

Raihan made a move to tuck the Applin into his jacket, when he remembered that Leon hadn't given it back. He laughed, and leaned back on his Flygon. 

“Not bad,” he said, “Not bad at all.”


	2. (two weeks later)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raihan just can't help himself.

“So… we may be a thing.” 

It was Leon’s turn to spit out his drink, but mercifully into his teacup as he stared incredulously at his little brother standing awkwardly in front of the closed door of his office. Raihan, who had been sitting on a windowsill taking care of a Goomy that had been forcibly Dynamaxed during those two weirdos’ reign of terror, raised an eyebrow at Leon as the man spluttered indignantly. 

“You’re… you’re _what?_ ”

“I _said,_ ” Hop said, cheeks pink. “We may be a thing. _May_ being a working keyword here.”

“I…” Leon took a shaky breath, running his hand through his hair. “You… oh, Arceus.”

Hop pouted at him, putting his hands on his hips indignantly. “Lee. Somehow _this_ is more shocking to you than, say, me deciding to become a Pokémon Professor or catching a legendary Pokémon.” 

“ _Of course_ it is!” Leon shot back, “You’re just a _baby!_ ”

“I’m _12!_ ” Hop replied, “ _They’re_ 12! They like me back!”

“Oh, they managed it, then?” Raihan raised an eyebrow at Hop, who peered at him sheepishly. He gave Hop a lopsided grin. “The bastard! I ought to send them a card, or something.”

“Please don’t.” Leon grumbled, rubbing his temples. 

“Why are you so upset?” Hop practically whined. “Lee, I thought you’d be happy!”

“I _am,_ I promise!” Leon insisted, “It’s just—I—listen, dating the Champion is gonna come with so much _trouble_ from the press! You’ll have to say goodbye to a quiet life!”

“Raihan didn’t have that problem when he said he’s dating you!” Hop said, and Leon jerked in alarm, his head whirling around to glare at his boyfriend, who slowly began to get up from his sprawl on the windowsill. “It’s all over PokéGram, too! And he’s _fine!_ ”

“Raihan…” Leon began, and the man laughed nervously.

“Oh, look at the time! Gotta feed my, uh, Goomies! Bye, babe!”

“ _Raihan!_ ” 

**Author's Note:**

> yes, darude sandstorm darude. shut up raihan named it when he was little cut him some slack
> 
> eventually i will write horny raileon fic mark my fuckin words


End file.
